In this first episode, we talk to the guys behind Audiobus. Sebastian Dittmann and Michael Tyson share some technical details, as well as let slip a new revelation about the much anticipated app. From there we get into the meta-economics of app pricing and the whole business of making apps.

Reader Comments 12

Great podcast. Audiobus is going to be a serious turning point for iOS music creation. What Sebastian said about Audiobus almost being a collaborative effort between him and Michael, third party devs, and the end users is interesting. The whole community is working to overcome limitations of the platform. Hopefully we'll see more of this in the future.

... and a great discussion on why IAPs are not necessarily evil. Indeed, I hope every user of music apps hears this! I think Sebastion did a wonderful job of explaining the developers' point of view on a number of things, including risk and business model.

Question: Is it possible to have more than one app in the effects slot?

@sebastion, I'd love to read the article you mentioned at around 41:30 about triple mocha lattes

Michael and Sebastian were really great to listen to, both sound very smart, indeed, And they shared lots of great insight, eloquently stated. VIAP conversation was great to hear verbalized as it was, but that article about "the two app stores" is from 2009, and I might suggest that there are actually three or four app stores now! :)

On the topic of pricing and funding development and future success, as much as I agree with just about everything Sebastian said, I would argue that maybe he should keep a little bit more of an open mind and here's why...

How do you explain Animoog? It's an amazing application that was released for $.99, and now it sells for $29.99. It's been consistently in the top charts, and has been a top grossing app when it was only a buck and now when it's $30. Sebastian mentioned getting yr app into people's hands, and if it's good, that will ensure the future success. Animoog did just that, it has an enormous user base.

Imagine if Animoog came out at the normal price of $30. I would've still purchased it, but I bet a lot of other people would not have. I purchased it and I also gifted it to at least five people, as well. Again this would not have happened had it been released for the full $30 price.

But I digress, I'm quite sure Audiobus will be just fine for all involved with its development, and their strategy sounds great to me, as does the quality of the work, I can't wait to check it out! When they said it will be priced under $10, I hope they meant $9.99 because they deserve it!

Thanks for the link, Sebastian. Great read, particularly the part about craftsmanship on display. I might consider it as 'investment on display' as well though. The free app thoughts are really interesting too, particularly in regard to perceived value and perceived craftsmanship/investment. "If he can make it free, why can't you?" vs walking into a coffee shop and seeing machines and lights and employees - no one would even consider that their coffee might be free. Totally agree that design shows craftsmanship but I wish there was another way to express risk/investment. Maybe along with megabytes, the app store should show the number of git commits. :) Having smart people discuss it in plain language via podcasts and articles meant for the general public will probably do more to educate consumers though. Cheers for that - really well done.

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This goes for anyone else who notices their comments aren't showing up. Don't keep reposting, I'll let it through as soon as I see it. But it could be you've got a URL in the (now hidden) URL field and that is getting you blocked, because the site thinks you're trying to spam. Just hit that (Forget Stored Information) link next to your Author: Name and you'll be fixed.